Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Thank you all for your help. I can't see inference being the problem yesterday because it was such a remote location. Do you have any opinions on using frequency 13. After the issues w the wifi modem, it was suggested that I try that frequency since it is less used.

If you are getting a red blink in response to the CST triggering, then interference is a non issue. The reciever is getting the signal. There then is the issue of the reciever getting the signal to the flash.

What kind of flash are you using? How is it connected? How many and what kind of other flashes are being used?

I'm shooting with a d3s and a sb-900. I just got a new locking pc cord to mini phone cord from flash zebra. I got three cords and they all seem to work fine. I feel like my pc jack on th ab-900 is a little loose but the locking cords seem to make that a non-issue.

Just to be certain, the 900's are set to "M" mode, SU4 is off? As well, any wireless TTL settings (CLS) are also set to off? Not speaking of any specific light, but I have seen where the additional remote settings can cause issues in triggering.

As for the PC cords, I have noticed different PC sockets are sized slightly different. What may be really loose on a Canon, may be slightly loose on a Nikon, fit well on a Sony, and be tight in a hotshoe adapter. It is easier to adjust for a loose connection that it is for a tight one by crimping the shield on the connecting end of the cable.

Yes the 900 is set to Manual. I'll get out the manual and check on the su4 and the TTL but I have never turned them on so I suspect they are off. I spent last weekend at the Onelight workshop with zack arias and it seemed that my speed light was working perfectly there. If it didn't work perfectly at home, I would assume user error but I can set it al up, do test shots here to make sure all is well, then go to location where it works for a while and then stops, then I come home and it works flawlessly again. I think I'm going to buy a screw-lock pc to pc cable 16 ft cable so that I can shoot with that when the cyber stuff fails. No one wants these to work more than I do. I'm already $360 into the cyber stuff and I seriously do not have $340 for pocket wizards. since everyone else seems to have no problems, I can only assume that 1) there is something wrong with my equipment or 2) I'm screwing something up. At least having that cord will help bail me out when it starts to fail....

One more thing to check is sleep time out. Speedlites by default time out in a fairly short amount of time (90 seconds or so is typical). When mounted to a camera, they are given the awaken signal by the camera before the exposure, so you do not typically notice this when the flash is on camera. However, off camera it becomes very apparent, and frustrating. Sometimes, the flash will wake up after the first signal from the Cyber Syncs, other times it cannot wake up at all from the Cyber Syncs (this is a function of flash design). If it awakens after the first signal, then the first shot will be missed, as the exposure is almost over before the flash starts to wake up. You can typically extend the sleep time in the flash menu. Also, if there is no flash for an hour, the battery recievers will also go to sleep, and need to be reawakened by the test button.

Thanks again for taking all this time to help me. I hope that all this new knowledge helps me get these things to work without so much anxiety. I'll keep you guys posted!!